Do it once and...

My buddy at work is about ten years older than me.  We seem to think along the lines and it has been my blessing to learn from some of his advice.  If I had only listened.

He warned me a while back to be careful of what chores I help with at the house.  Before the ladies get angry I am not saying that the guys should have no chores.  Ask my wife.  She has not done dishes in 15 years.  What I do believe is that men and women don't have to share all chores 50-50.  Some things a woman is just better at doing and vise versa.  My friend meant that once the order of things had been established to be careful what I help with.  If you have drawn any lines be careful not to erase them.

Example:  We have three boys, then two girls, and then another boy.  I changed my share of the diapers with the first three boys.  When our first girl came I was a bit leery of changing her diapers (too many creases and not sure how far to wipe).  So I decided that I would stick to the boys and my wife could handle what ever girls we had.  I did really well until our second girl came.  I'm not sure how it even happened but I screwed up.  Out of the goodness of my huge understanding heart, and the fact that my wife was having a bad day, I changed a diaper on our daughter.  That was it.  That was all my wife needed to see.  It was like blood in the water.  From then on it was, "you changed her yesterday."  I think that the only time she changes a diaper now is if I am more than ten miles away from the house or at work and can't come home.

I not sure why but it NEVER works the other way around.  I can't even get my wife within ten feet of the lawn mower.  Even after I bought one of those zero turn machines.  No pushing.  The garbage, forget it.  Cook on the grill, never.  Change a lightbulb, no way.  Spray round up on the weeds,change a light bulb, get something down from the top shelf (even after I bought her two step stools), squish a bug, heaven forbid.  But somehow I'm not supposed to be embarrassed to buy her "stuff" at the grocery store.

So to all the guys.  Be careful!  Your wife is lying, waiting for you to do something that she normally does, so it can become YOUR job to do and she can call her girlfriend (or go to Becky's Grill, or to the PTO meeting, or whatever).  Do the things you do and do them well.  Hold fast and live well.

El Toro Negro Ha Hablado